Dolphins add a center, corner. And Tagovailoa sees another QB get paid. And Dolphins notes

A six-pack of Dolphins notes on a Monday:

▪ The Dolphins gave tryouts to 27 players at their rookie minicamp this past weekend.

And two emerged with Dolphins contracts: Rutgers center Ireland Brown (according to a league source) and Wisconsin cornerback Jason Maitre, per his agent Matt Lowe.

Maitre played five years at Boston College before transferring to Wisconsin for his final college season last year. He started nine games for the Badgers, and had an interception and three passes defended and a solid 85.6 passer rating in his coverage area, with 36 completions in 51 targets for 402 yards (11.2 per catch), per Pro Football Focus.

The Dolphins see the 5-10 Maitre as a nickel cornerback who also can play safety; he started seven games at safety for Boston College in 2021 but has been a cornerback the past two years. He had four interceptions in 43 college games, including 28 starts.

As for Brown, he lost his starting job last season and Pro Football Focus said he played only 62 snaps on offense all year. PFF rated him the second-best player on Rutgers’ offense in 2023, albeit in a very limited sample size.

Brown, who’s 6-3 and 300 pounds, began his career as a defensive tackle at Boston College, playing 14 games over two seasons, before transferring to Rutgers in the months before the 2021 season.

Rutgers moved him to the offensive line; he started six games at left guard in 2021 and started 11 games at center in 2022.

Last season, he appeared in eight games and was named to the Academic All-Big Ten list for the third time.

Brown, a native of Jamaica, New York, was rated by ESPN as the 85th-best defensive tackle in the 2019 class.

Among the other undrafted rookie offensive linemen signed by the Dolphins, Miami gave a $115,000 guarantee to Ohio State guard/center Matthew Jones, a $247,000 guarantee to USF’s Bayron Matos and a $75,000 guarantee to UTEP center Andrew Meyer.

▪ Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff’s new four-year, $212 million deal sets another benchmark for a potential Tua Tagovailoa extension. The deal includes $170 million guaranteed.

At a salary of $53 million annually per year, Goff now stands second among all quarterbacks in per-year average salary, behind Joe Burrow’s $55 million. Jalen Hurts, Lamar Jackson and Justin Herbert are 3 through 5 on the list, all topping $50 million.

Tagovailoa’s representation, Athletes First, and the Dolphins have discussed a contract extension this offseason. The Dolphins hope to get something done before the season.

If they do, the deal would replace his fifth-year option, which is set to pay him $23.1 million this season. It also likely would lower his $23.1 million cap hit this season.

How do Goff and Tagovailoa compare?

Over the past two seasons, Tagovailoa has 54 touchdown passes and 22 interceptions and a 102.9 passer rating and a 19-11 record in the regular season and 0-1 in the playoffs.

Over the past two seasons, Goff has 59 touchdowns and 19 interceptions and a 98.6 passer rating and a 21-13 record in the regular season and 2-1 in the playoffs.

▪ Though rookies weren’t expected to report to South Florida until last Friday morning, sixth-round receiver Malik Washington got to town early, and Tagovailoa made a point to meet him and start building an on-field chemistry.

“I got a chance to throw with him a little bit earlier in the week,” Washington said last Friday. “Really good dude, does things right. I’m excited to see what this leads to. Tua is one of the most accurate passers in the NFL.”

Washington, 5-8, led all FBS receivers in receptions (110) and broken tackles (35) last season. His 1,426 receiving yards were fourth in the country.

▪ Washington said he has studied the film of former NFL Pro Bowl receiver Steve Smith, who’s now a broadcaster for NFL Network.

“That’s who I like to model my game after,” he said

▪ Patrick McMorris, the second of the Dolphins’ two sixth-round picks, hopes his special teams acumen helps his roster chances.

“I’ve played kickoff, kickoff return, punt, punt return,” he said. “I played all positions but returner. Coming in as a sixth-round safety, just a safety in general, that’s a position that they like to put in all special teams. Being able to play all four I would say gives me a step up, but I still have to learn the playbook and go out there and do everything right.”

▪ Rookie running back Jaylen Wright said securing the jersey number of former Pro Bowl cornerback Xavien Howard (25) is meaningful to him.

“He’s a dude – somebody that was very good in the NFL,” Wright said. “The last person that wore it, he’s a great player here. I’m just ready to make it look even more great.”

Howard, who was released earlier this offseason, remains a free agent.

Wright said the Dolphins’ offense particularly suits him because “with my strengths, I feel like I’m the type of running back that doesn’t do a lot of dancing, a lot of cutting. I’m one cut and go — that’s just me. I feel like this offense is going to utilize my speed, and I feel like I’m going to be used the right way.”